Mishaps in Inter-Dimensionality
by alexisgrey139
Summary: Rose's efforts at teleportation go awry, landing her in Gravity Falls, Oregon. WARNING: Contains Homestuck and Gravity Falls spoilers. Some plot elements from each world are tweaked a little to suit the story.
1. Chapter 1

"What's this? Where am I?" Rose stood up gingerly, brushing pine needles and dirt from her dress. So far as she could tell, she had managed to land herself in the middle of the woods. The question now being, what woods were these?

"Watch out!" a boy shouted at the last second as he barreled into her, knocking her back to the ground. "Come on, we've gotta get out of here, fast." He held his hand out to help her back up, and kept hold of it as he led her through the woods, twisting and turning down a dozen different paths. If she wasn't lost before, she certainly was now.

"Wait, wait up! Where are you taking me? What's going on?" She started to wish she hadn't worn the long black dress, it was incredibly cumbersome to run in. Then again, she'd expected to transport a couple hundred yards on the meteor, not into some far-off forest. She'd have to double-check her calculations, if she ever got a chance to rest.

"No time to explain, we're almost there, but we've gotta hurry!" His hat got snagged on a tree branch, but she managed to barely grab it with the tip of her fingers as she trailed behind him. He took them past one last sharp bend, before ducking into a small cave and pulling her in with him. She opened her mouth to ask questions, and oh did she have questions, but he clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered, "Not yet. They'll hear you." She was tempted to bite his hand, but figured he probably knew more about the local fauna (or, perhaps, vicious flora) than she did.

After sitting like that for at least ten minutes, he took his hand away and leaned his head back against the stone wall, letting out a sigh of relief. "Well, that was terrifying."

"Seems it was." Rose held out the hat, which he gratefully took, pushing his unruly brown hair under its blue brim. "However I'd still like to know what, exactly, was so terrifying."

"Gremloblin. Part gremlin, part goblin, all nasty. I had a run in with that particular one a few summers ago. Well, I say run in…"

"But you mean…?" she prompted, lifting an eyebrow curiously.

"Eh. Kinda, maybe, perhaps...stuck him in a cage for a bit?" He shrugged sheepishly. "It's a long story. If you want, I can tell it to you back at the shack?"

"The shack?"

"The Mystery Shack. I figured that's where you got here from, not much of another reason to be up in this neck of the woods. If not, where'd you come from?"

"That...would be another, and probably longer, story, if my assumptions are at all correct. I don't suppose you could tell me the date?"

"Uhh, June 17th, 2016."

"Huh. Strange." She looked at him, concerned he'd think her absolutely bonkers by now, but he didn't seem to pay much mind to her comments. Maybe he was the crazy one. "Also, can we get out? As much as I love sharing cramped caves with boys I've never met after a sprint through the woods…"

"Oh! Right. Duh. Sorry." He crawled out, holding his hand out to help her up again. "My name's Dipper, by the way. Dipper Pines."

"Rose Lalonde, at your service. Did you say there was a place nearby we could go?"

"Oh, yeah, the Mystery Shack. Follow me. I promise not to drag you this time." He chuckled a bit, clearly feeling embarrassed about the sudden run. They walked for a few minutes in silence, not really sure what to say, until they got out of the woods and out to the shack. Luckily, no one was around to wonder why Dipper was bringing back a strange girl from the woods. They all knew what the woods were like, and he doubted any of them would trust someone found in there. But for some reason, he couldn't help but trust her, despite knowing nothing about her except her name and that she had suddenly appeared in his path. On second thought, he wasn't really sure he should trust her. But he shrugged it off. The journals had never mentioned anything about strange girls in dresses with pretty smiles. Well, it had, but they all had long black hair, and hers was short and blonde and much, much cleaner. "Well, uh, here's the shack. My room's up in the attic, you wanna head up there?"

"My mother always told me to stay away from strange boys who invited me into their attics. But then again, I rarely ever took her advice." She grinned at him, feeling oddly adventurous in this strange place. "Lead the way, Mister Pines."

"Nah, Mister Pines is what everyone calls Stan. Or my dad. But not me. Just Dipper, yeah?"

"Alright, Just Dipper. Lead the way." She followed him up to the attic, both of them staying quiet so as not to wake Soos, Mabel, and Stan, all of whom had fallen asleep watching a movie in the living room. When they got to the attic, Dipper sat at the head of his bed, gesturing for her to sit across from him.

"So, you wanna tell your story first, or do you want to hear mine?"

"Hm. I suppose you'll just keep wondering if I don't go first, so I'll start. And no questions until the end, it's a long story and most of your questions will be answered by the end. It all started with a video game, called Sburb. Three friends and I decided to play it, completely unaware of the consequences. As it happens, that game also gave way the end of the world, and we ended up meeting a group of alien beings called trolls, from a planet called Alternia. To cut down on the length of the story, I'll suffice to say that after a considerable amount of stress, fear, and some battle, myself and one of my aforementioned friends, Dave, are currently residing on a meteor hurtling through space towards a dimensional rift, guided by eldritch horror terrors and bends in spacetime, and a number of the trolls also happen to reside on the meteor. One of them, Kanaya, was granted powers based off the concept of space by the game, so I enlisted her help in devising a method of instantaneous transportation. However, my calculations were apparently a bit...off, and I ended up here, in what seems to be an alternate dimension." She took a deep breath as she finished her story, realizing she probably sounded like a babbling idiot. "So...I suppose that's the gist of it. I don't suppose you believed any of that?"

"Lady, you would not _believe_ the summers I've had here. I mean, gnomes, murderous child psychics, time travel, a couple secret societies… Don't worry. I believe you." He smiled reassuringly at her. He knew, logically, that she sounded absolutely nuts, but she acted sane enough, and he'd gotten pretty good at telling when people were lying, and she definitely wasn't.

"Fair enough. After everything I've seen, I'm inclined to believe you, too. Maybe some worlds are more inclined towards aliens, and others more inclined towards the paranormal. I've always been a strong believer of both."

"Really?"

"Oh yes. I've actually got a book, back at home, about horror terrors and grimdarkness and sorcery...a little darker than your stories sound, but supernatural nonetheless. That's how I learned to track the movements of the horror terrors in the Furthest Ring, and plot the meteor's course. I love to research those types of things." Dipper felt like he could kiss her right then. Sure, Mabel and Soos and Wendy had always believed him, and Stan had his particular interest in the journals, but no one else seemed as interested in the _research_ as he was, as intrigued by the phenomena and as dedicated to recording it. Maybe there was someone else out there who got it.

"That sounds incredible. I wish you had it here, so you could show me. Oh! Do you want to see the journals I've got?" He knew he sounded like an overexcited kid, but he couldn't help it. Ever since Stan had trusted him with the other two journals after the events three summers ago, he'd been dying to find someone else who really understood his love for them. Soos found them interesting, but never really fully got what they meant. Wendy was always more interested in the adventuring, the climbing and fighting and exploring, which he loved too, but it was different. And Mabel...well, Mabel had always been there with him, and would even now go on explorations with him when he asked, but she'd gotten spooked by an encounter with a particularly vicious ghost. He didn't blame her, he'd almost died in the fight, and he still felt sick to think about leaving her alone, really alone, like that. But he needed to finish the journals, catalogue everything the author had missed, make sure somebody out there knew the truth and how to deal with it. He shook himself from his reverie as Rose answered his question.

"Maybe in a bit. For now, I'm kind of hungry, and we may want to think of a story for my being here, to give to your family." She smiled sheepishly, realizing she didn't know how long she would be stuck here, nor how her time spent here would correlate to time on the meteor.

"Story? Nah. Like I said, crazy stuff happens around here all the time. No one will really care. Food, however, might be important. Who knows how interdimensional travel affects digestion rates." He grinned hopefully, but cringed internally at his awful joke. Why was he so bad at talking to girls? Then he realized she was laughing, and he smiled a little more.

"Who knows, indeed? All I know is I'm famished. Would you mind showing me to the kitchen?" She slid off the bed, moving to the door and looking over her shoulder to make sure he was coming too. He caught up behind her and opened the door, leading the way to the kitchen and opening the cupboards.

"Um...We've got stuff for sandwiches, kinda, and a lot of cans of...brown meat. Ugh. I don't know why Grunkle Stan likes this stuff."

"Grunkle?"

"Great Uncle. He's the one who owns the place, you'll probably meet him in a bit when they all wake up. There was some freaky hypnotic movie on TV last night, they got sucked into it until I came down and shut it off this morning, I think they're still sleeping it off. Sandwich okay with you?"

"Sure. PB&amp;J alright?"

"Definitely," she said with a smile, sitting down in one of the old kitchen chairs and watching him curiously. Here was a boy who, despite the fact that she appeared out of nowhere and told him about her alien friends and apocalyptic video game, hadn't even batted an eyelash at her, much less seemed to think her crazy or want to throw her out. She kind of liked this particular dimension.

"Here you are, one peanut butter and jelly sandwich, made by yours truly." Dipper presented the sandwich with a little extra flourish, and Rose stifled a giggle.

"Why thank you, my good sir," she smirked. Dipper blushed a bit, realizing how much of a dork he really was.

"Dipper? 'S that you?" Mabel stood in the doorway, rubbing sleep from her eye with her sweater sleeve. "And...is that a girl?"

"What? Oh! Mabel! Hi, yes, this is...this is Rose. She kinda just appeared in the woods. Rose, this is my twin sister, Mabel."

"Pleasure to meet you, Mabel," Rose said with a warm smile.

"Nice to meet you too! Sooo…I see you've met my brother. What do you think of him?" She wiggled her eyebrows a bit, grinning ear to ear. "Do you think he's cu-" She was cut off by Dipper's hand clapping over her mouth as he pulled her aside.

"Ahaha, yeah Mabel and I will be back in just a second." He yanked her to the other side of the doorway, hissing through his teeth. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"Aww, c'mon Dipper, I was just trying to help. You're sixteen and you still haven't kissed anyone!" Much to Dipper's irritation, Mabel didn't seem as concerned with keeping her voice down. "And no, that one time you kissed Candy last year to uncurse her doesn't count!"

"I know, I know, but I've literally known her for like, maybe ten minutes, not including the sprint in the woods, and she's not from here, and sh-"

"Sprint in the woods?"

"Long story. There was a gremloblin, and then she just kinda appeared out of nowhere and I knocked her over, and then we had to run from it and get it lost, and then I took her back here."

"That wasn't a very long story. And anyway, she's pretty. You should kiss her!"

"I can't kiss a girl I just met!"

"Sure you can! You just go up to her and-"

"Mabel I wasn't debating the physical possibility of it, I just meant you can't do that! It's not what people do!"

"Alright, jeez, calm down. You don't have to get so mad about it."

"Look, I appreciate the help and all, but...I can handle it myself. No trying to wingman me, okay?"

"Fine, fine. Ruin all my fun." Mabel rolled her eyes and huffed dramatically, returning to the kitchen with Dipper following. "So, Rose, where ya from?"

"Rainbow Falls, New York. In another dimension, it would seem."

"Another dimension? That is so cool! What's it like there?"

"Much the same is it is here, I would think. Or at least, it was before the end of the world."

"You had an end of the world thing too, huh?"

"What do you mean? Your world seems rather intact to me."

"Yeah, a few summers ago Grunkle Stan brought his brother back from another dimension with a portal thingy. It worked, but then there was an interdimensional rift, a demon tricked me into giving it to him, and we ended up in a demon-infested weirdpocalypse. We ended up fixing it after about a week or so, but some things were just never the same." She shrugged, grabbing an apple from the counter and biting into it. "I mean, as far as apocalypses go, it was pretty reversible. I imagine yours was less so."

"You'd be correct in that, but there are more places out there than just our world. Or at least, there were in my dimension. The rift is probably how I ended up here, but the real question is how do I get back home?"

"The portal's still in the basement. Maybe we could fix it up, tweak your calculations, and get you back home" Dipper suggested. "Stan and Ford could help, Ford built it and Stan fixed it."

"I suppose that would work, yes. Although I'll probably need help on the calculations, I don't suppose either of you are good at math?"

"Ooh, Dipper's great at math! Like, sooo good. He's a genius! He can help."

"Is that so? Well, shall we get started?"

"Oh, uh, I was actually supposed to run some errands in town today. Now that I can drive and Wendy's off at college, Stan has me making errand runs."

"May I come with? It would be nice to see a town again. It's been some time since I have."

"Yeah, sure. I'll go grab the list and get a few things ready, it'll be just a sec."

"I'm in no rush. Also, Mabel, do you have something I could wear? This dress is a little...warm, especially in this weather. Maybe something in a purple?"

"Definitely! Ooh, follow me!" Mabel raced off to her room, leaving Rose to follow her, and began rifling through her closet. After they turned fourteen, the twins realized they'd probably need separate rooms soon, and had Stan convert one of the old unused rooms into a bedroom for Mabel. Sometimes she and Dipper still slept in each other's rooms, but it was nice to have her own space, especially since she'd gotten into painting, and there wasn't a lot of room in the attic for paints and easels. "Here, try this on!" She tossed Rose a lavender sundress that fell just a couple inches above her knee, and a purple headband to replace her normal black one. "Holy cow, that fits you perfectly!" She grinned, excited to have another friend to share her wardrobe with.

"I do quite like the color. Do you mind if I borrow it, at least for the day?" Rose blushed a bit, enjoying the swish of the looser skirt against her legs.

"My wardrobe is your wardrobe for as long as you're here."

"Thank you ever so much. Shall we be off?"

"Oh, I think I'll stay here. Get some cleaning done, maybe work on a painting. I'll let Dipper handle the tour of the town." It was the perfect plot, Mabel decided. Make them spend enough time alone together and they just _had_ to fall in love! Or at least kiss.

"Alright. Well, I'll see you when we get back. Thanks again for the dress." She smiled as she headed back out towards the living room. "Dipper?"

"I'm out here!" he called from the driveway, kicking the front of the car right as Rose walked through the door. "Sorry, it's getting kinda old, has trouble starting sometimes. There we go," he said as it roared to life. He went around to open the passenger side door for her. "Ladies first."

"Why thank you," she grinned as she climbed into the car, clicking her seat buckle and looking over at Dipper. "So, where to first?"

"Grocery store, then the hardware store, then I've gotta drop off and pick up a few things from some people. Maybe afterwards we'll swing by the Greasy Spoon and grab a bite."

"Sounds good to me."

He turned to back the car out of the driveway and make towards the dirt road that led from the shack to the main street. "Cool, let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, here we are. Gravity Falls Grocery. Do you want to come in with?" Dipper asked as he pulled into a spot in the parking lot.

"Yes, please. It's been years since I've gotten to be in a store."

"Oh, right, wow. Yeah. That must be...really weird, honestly."

Rose shrugged. "I think we all got thrown into the apocalypse so fast, we never truly had a chance to ponder the oddity of our situation. We adapted and we made do. But...It is nice to be back in a normal world." She looked a little wistful for a moment, before opening the door and getting out of the car. "C'mon, I thought you said you had a lot of these errands to run."

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Jeez." Dipper followed suit, grabbing a basket on his way into the store and making for the leftmost aisle first, casually remarking, "Did you know that people tend to go to the right in stores first, so they put more of the attention-grabbing displays on the right?" He looked over at Rose, briefly expecting a response, then realizing what a strange thing that was to say. "Sorry, sorry, you probably don't care about market psychology."

"I love psychology, actually. I've always found it intriguing, what goes on in people's heads."

"Really? Me too! Never been too great at it though, I'm better at math. People just have too many variables." He shrugged, grabbing a carton of eggs and a package of butter off the shelf.

"Funny, I've always felt the same thing about math. Once they brought letters into it, it was tough for me to parse together. And calculus? I tried to learn it from some textbooks on the meteor, but it all went over my head. Too many shapes and variables and changing variables."

"I like calculus. To me it felt like the moment that all of the math I'd been learning kind of came together into this set of patterns, and it all clicked into place." He felt himself blush a little. "Sorry. I tend to ramble about stuff sometimes."

"It's fine. It's kinda cute," Rose said with a grin. Dipper blushed even brighter, looking back down at the grocery list.

"Heh, yeah. Um…" He stammered a bit, walking over to the next aisle to grab a loaf of bread and some stuff for breakfasts, cereal and pancake mix and oatmeal for Stan.

"So, how long do you think the calculations will take?"

"Honestly? It could be tomorrow. It could take a month. I wish I knew, and I'm sorry there's not a lot we know for certain. Why?"

"Just wondering is all." Rose was starting to seriously worry. She had no clothes or food, no money, and nowhere to go should the Pines family not want her to stay. She sighed quietly as she dug her nails slightly into her wrists, an old nervous habit from fighting with her mom.

"Hey, is everything okay? I mean, besides the being a dimension away from home and not knowing when you'll get back...That was a stupid question, actually. Nevermind."

"It's fine, and I'm quite alright. Just thinking."

"If you say so…" Dipper shot her a worried glance. "Hey, since you'll almost definitely be here at least tonight, what's your favorite meal? I'll cook you dinner, maybe it'll help you feel a little better."

"Oh! How thoughtful. I don't suppose you know how to make pasta carbonara?"

"You'd be surprised. My parents work late a lot, and Mabel once managed to set fire to a pot of water, so I've gotten pretty good."

"Is that so? Well, we'll just have to see then, won't we?"

"Is that a challenge I hear?"

"Mm...Perhaps. Depends. Are you up for it?"

"Rose I'll have you know that Dipper Pines is _always_ up for a challenge. I'm gonna make the best damn pasta carbonara you've ever had."

"I look forward to it immensely. Shall I go grab cheese from the last aisle back?"

"Yeah, that'd be great. You like ice cream, right? Favorite flavor?"

"Mint chocolate chip, but you don't have to buy it special for me. I'm not terribly picky."

"Don't worry, it's my favorite too. Besides, Stan made the grave mistake of giving me his debit card for this run." Dipper grinned, almost cackling.

"Well, that's...disturbing. I'm going to go grab that cheese. Meet you by the ice cream." Rose turned the corner to grab a chunk of parmigiano reggiano and take a deep breath. She knew she had to get home as soon as possible, but every minute she spent here made her miss the home she knew was gone now. She almost wished she could stay here, but she knew the others would be too worried about her. She sighed softly, headed toward the frozen foods section, smiling a little as she saw Dipper trying to keep three different cartons of ice cream in his arm as he reached for a box of popsicles. "You know you could just put those in the basket."

"Yeah but they're all in the same freezer. It's a waste of time. Besides, it's not too bad."

"If you say so." She stooped to put the cheese in the basket, then deftly took the ice cream cartons out of his arm and added them as well. "But that's better."

"I would've been fine," Dipper grumbled as he stuck the popsicles in the basket as well. "Just a few more things and we'll head out." They stopped by the meat section for bacon for the pasta, and by the bakery for garlic bread, where a beautiful, small purple cake caught Rose's eye.

"Ooh," she said quietly, pausing to look at it. It was a rectangular chocolate cake with purple frosting, with sugar pearls and chocolate flowers for decoration, and it was the perfect size for two people to share.

"Do you want it?" Dipper asked, noticing her pause.

"Oh, I couldn't. You've already been too kind to me."

"Nonsense. It's only three bucks. I'm sure Stan can spare it."

"If you insist…" Rose stammered, blushing. Dipper took it from the display and brought it with them up to checkout, with Rose still pink the whole way through.

"Ooh, Dipper, I see you finally got yourself a girlfriend! Nice!" the clerk grinned.

"What? Oh, no, Lee, it's not like that, she's not..." Dipper trailed off, now blushing furiously alongside Rose.

"I see how it is. Don't want to make it a big thing just yet, that's fine. I won't tell a soul." The clerk gave him a wink and a sly grin.

"No, I mean she's not...Augh, nevermind. Thank you, see you next Sunday."

"See ya kid!" The two teens walked out to the parking lot, and Rose put the groceries in the trunk while Dipper started up the car.

"Sorry about that. It'll happen in a town as small as this one, everyone wants to know the latest gossip."

"Don't worry, I know the feeling. There were only a few of us on the meteor, gossip got around fast. It's fine. Where to next?"

"Just a couple deliveries to make, and I've gotta pick a few things up for Stan and run to the hardware store for Soos. You might wanna stay inside for the deliveries. They're quick, but the people are...unconventional."

"Typically I'd argue that I'm not exactly the most conventional person you've met, but from your stories I'll trust that unconventional from your perspective must be strange indeed."

"Yeah...Some strange people in these parts, that's for sure." Dipper pulled out of the parking lot and ran his deliveries and pickups without a hitch, with Rose waiting idly in the car.

"That was the last one, yeah?"

"Yep. Just the hardware store, and then we can head back to the shack for dinner, or to the Greasy Spoon for pie. We'll see how much time we have."

"Sounds good to me," Rose agreed as they left.


	3. Chapter 3

"So, what exactly do you _do_ at the Mystery Shack, Dipper?" Rose asked as they wandered the aisles, Dipper scowling thoughtfully at a few bins of assorted nuts and bolts.

"It's just a tourist trap, really. Tourists come here because they hear about the strange happenings, Grunkle Stan shows them a few made-up attractions, they go home happy and the town keeps its economy up. Ever since we got rid of the Society of the Blind Eye, people who live around here are a bit more observant of the supernatural side of it all, but no one gets hurt thanks to us, and they don't exactly mind the extra business the Shack pulls in."

"That seems rather dishonest, although it's probably safer that way. Who, or what, is the Society of the Blind Eye?"

"They were a group of people dedicated to making the residents here forget all about the supernatural." He picked up a particular kind of bolt, sticking it in a bag he was using to gather the ones he wanted. "They had a way to erase people's memories, and they'd use it on themselves sometimes too, to erase the memories of whatever was causing them sorrow or pain. Not exactly the healthiest way to deal with your problems, but we were more concerned about them forcing it on everyone else." He grabbed a few more miscellaneous bits of hardware before deciding he was done in this aisle.

"I see. Also, out of curiosity, what exactly are you gathering hardware for?"

"Repairs. This and that. General tinkering and engineering projects."

"Inventions?"

"Some of them. Nothing fancy, really. Just a few little things." He grabbed some tools off a shelf, and a package of screws.

"Sounds fun. Anything from other aisles I could get for you?"

"Nah, I think I'm almost done. Sorry, you're probably getting bored."

"A bit, admittedly. Would you mind terribly much if I wandered elsewhere while you finish up here?" Dipper shrugged and said no, he wouldn't mind. "Alright. I'll be in the paint aisle, then." Ever since she was a little girl, she loved looking at the colored sample swatches in the paint aisle, imagining houses painted with her favorite colors or making her own custom palettes.

As she wandered into the aisle, a green swatch caught her eye and made her breath catch in her throat. It was jade green, the exact color of Kanaya's blood and her beautiful lips. Rose sighed softly, tucking her hair nervously behind her ear as she remembered the night she and Kanaya had broken up. She had become too wrapped up in the plan with the meteor, and had been getting a little too into her alchemized booze, and it had slowly taken its toll on their relationship. That, combined with Vriska being more emotionally stable and open since everything that happened, led to the obvious happening. Kanaya broke up with her one day, and a few days later was spending her meals with Vriska. At first Rose blamed herself, and hit the booze even harder, until Dave finally revoked her alchemiter access and kept her in her room to sober up. She was fairly certain that, had she not been granted god tier immortality, she would have died without his help. She was happy for the troll girls now, and Kanaya certainly seemed happier with Vriska. Rose just wished she could have been that for the jadeblood.

She shook herself free of those thoughts though, and continued down the paint aisle, finding another green swatch nearby and smiling a bit as she realized it was the same forest green as Dipper's eyes. She found another that was the same blue as his hat, and one that was the lavender color of the dress Mabel was loaning her. As much as she loved her friends back on the meteor, it was nice to have Dipper and Mabel take her in so quickly, and not have to deal with the drama and conflict of the trolls for a bit. She felt a little guilty for thinking so, but after nearly three years with them, they were starting to drive her a little batty.

"Rose? You ready to head out?" Dipper asked quietly, seeing she was clearly thinking about something.

"Hm? Oh, yes, I suppose so." She put the paint swatches back, except for the forest green one, which she slipped into her pocket, and followed him out to the car. "What all did you end up getting?"

"Oh, y'know. Odds and ends. Some stuff to make repairs, mostly. A few things to keep around just in case."

"In case of what?" she prodded.

"Monster attacks, mostly. I'm trying to make the shack and the town easier to defend." There was a pause as he tried to make the old and busted car cooperate, and then he began again. "What were you thinking about back there?"

"Oh, nothing of any real importance. Home, mostly, and my ex-girlfriend, and how kind you and Mabel have been to me."

"Ex-girlfriend?"

"Kanaya. She's the troll who helped me with the spell. We dated for a bit, but I had a bit of a bad phase, and was putting her through more than she deserved. She broke it off after a particularly bad fight, and it was rough for a time, but we're friends now. We still care deeply about each other, it just...wasn't the right time or place." She shrugged a bit. "That's in the past, though. What about you? Do you have any love interests?"

"Me? Oh, heh, nah." Dipper felt his cheeks flush pink. "I don't really have time for that at home, with school and all, and there's not really anyone here I think about like that. I mean, these people have kinda become my family. It'd just be weird." He thought it best to not mention his building crush on the mysterious blonde.

"I can understand that," she said with a nod. "So, headed back to the shack now?"

"Yeah. I figure it's nearly dinner time, I'll cook up that pasta when we get home."

"I look forward to trying it. I expect to be blown away by your pasta preparing prowess."

"Having a little fun with alliteration today?" Dipper raised an eyebrow at her.

"Just a bit." She grinned in return. They pulled into the Mystery Shack's parking lot and brought the bags in, Rose carrying the groceries and Dipper grabbing his hardware.

"Mabel! Grunkle Stan! We're home!" Dipper called as they walked through the door. He set the hardware down at the foot of the stairs so he'd remember to get it later, then followed Rose into the kitchen. "Hello? Anyone home?" When no one answered, he shrugged. "Guess it's just us. Still want that pasta?"

"If it's no trouble." She settled down into a kitchen chair, watching him put away the groceries and smiling.

"None at all." He set the pot of water up to boil, and started grating cheese and slicing bacon. "Sorry, watching me cook probably isn't all that interesting."

"Not so. I actually find it quite intriguing to watch people do seemingly simple tasks. Everyone does them differently, and it's just a nice thing to be around. And yes, I do realize that probably sounds incredibly strange."

"Not really. I think I can get that." He started heating a pan and adding the cheese and butter for the sauce. "It's close, without being weirdly intimate with someone you don't know." He stirred the sauce as he talked, and they continued discussing the little oddities of life and people as he finished the dish, until eventually he served up two bowls of the pasta, complete with garlic bread. "Voilà, as promised, the best pasta carbonara you've ever had."

"We'll see about that," she smirked as she raised a bite to her mouth. "Mm. Wow, that is good. Not sure it's the best I've ever had, but it's definitely up there." She dug in, eating every last bite and smiling.

"Well? What'd you think?" Dipper prodded as he cleared away the dishes, setting them in the sink to wash later.

"Hm...Definitely a 9 out of 10. Maaaybe a 10. Haven't decided."

"A 9? I'm hurt," he said, clutching his chest melodramatically. "Mabel and Stan still aren't home. Wanna watch a movie?"

"Sure. What've you got?"

"I was thinking Memento. I've always been a huge Nolan fan. Have you seen it?"

"Of course! I love it. I watched it a good eight times on the meteor, it's one of my favorites."

"Really? Cool! Um, I was going to put on pajamas, since I wasn't really planning on going anywhere else. Do you want to borrow some…?"

"Oh, uh, sure. Can I see what you've got?" She followed him upstairs to his room, and ended up picking a pair of loose black and grey plaid pants and a plain black tanktop, while Dipper just grabbed an old concert shirt and a pair of plain blue pants.

"Um, I'll go change downstairs and set up the movie while you change up here. Meet you downstairs." He went to change and put the DVD in the player, putting a blanket on the loveseat and a few pillows as Rose came down the stairs in his pajamas. He let out a quiet whistle, surprised at how good she made them look, and blushed a bit, hoping she hadn't heard it. "Uh, sorry we don't have a lot in the way of places to sit...But I figure the loveseat's got enough room for both of us."

"Works for me." She smiled, settling onto the loveseat with her legs curled up under her and the blanket over her lap. "Well come on, sit down. I want to watch the movie." Dipper joined her on the small couch, sharing the blanket as he pressed play on the remote.

They watched the movie mostly in silence, with a bit of banter during some of their favorite scenes. Rose slowly started to drop in and out of sleep, starting to lean towards Dipper. He stretched his arm out along the back of the couch, giving her a place to rest her head, and she smiled slightly as she settled into the crook of his arm, yawning a bit. "You're comfy," she murmured sleepily. He blushed, but said nothing, afraid to ruin the moment. As the movie ended, he felt his eyelids become heavy, and by the end of the credits they were both asleep.

* * *

"Dipper? Rose? You guys home?" Mabel whispered as she got home from Grenda's a couple hours later. She spotted the two on the couch and grinned, putting another blanket over them and turning off the lights as she went to her room. "G'night, cuties," she whispered as she closed her door. "Sweet dreams."


	4. Chapter 4

"Nn...Where am I? What...what's going on?" Rose rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, awaking alone on the couch, the blanket she and Dipper had shared now carefully tucked around her.

"Rose? You up?" Dipper called from the kitchen, before stepping into the living room.

"Yeah, or getting there, anyway." She sat up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulder and yawned. She bit her lip worriedly, remembering all of yesterday and how she'd gotten here, but she pushed her concern aside. They would fix it soon, and worrying would get her nowhere. "I don't suppose you have any coffee?"

"The only people living here are two sixteen year olds and a grumpy old man."

"So...yes?"

"So it's an only an acceptable question because you haven't had coffee yet," he said with a smirk. Despite his comment accounting for both Mabel and himself needing coffee, he only ever drank it when he needed to stay up all night for a project or homework. He was a naturally early riser, usually up around five, just in time for sunrise, and by the time anyone else was waking up, he was almost always already making breakfast, with a pot of coffee sitting in the coffee maker. This morning was no exception, he'd woken up to find Rose's head almost completely in his lap, and had carefully gotten out from under her and tucked her back in. "But yeah, there's some coffee in the kitchen, and I'm making blueberry pancakes for breakfast."

"That's the best news I've heard all week." She got up groggily and made her way to the kitchen, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders like a makeshift cloak. She sat down at the kitchen table, and Dipper got down a coffee mug, filling it almost to the brim.

"Milk? Sugar?"

"Yes, please. Copious amounts of sugar, just a splash of milk. If that's not being too picky."

"Not at all. Now by copious, are we talking like three spoonfuls or like ten?"

"Like seven," she said sheepishly. "I'm secretly a wuss when it comes to bitter stuff."

"Nah. Now Mabel, she takes like twen- Oh, hi Mabel!" He cut himself off as he placed the cup in front of Rose, who gratefully curled her fingers around it and took a long, appreciative drink.

"Eh, I know you were talkin' about me. Besides, I doubt anyone would be surprised that I take my coffee sweet." Mabel rubbed her eyes with her sweater sleeve, and grabbed a cup, filling it with coffee and sugar and downing it in three gulps before shaking her head and becoming her normal chipper self. "So, how'd you two sleep, besides totally adorably?"

"Heh, adorably, what do you mean?" Dipper said, blushing bright red.

"Oh don't be coy Dipper, I know you guys fell asleep all cuddled up tog-"

"HAHA Mabel I don't know what you're talking about but you should probably stop now," Dipper said, giving her a strained look. Rose just sat at the table, blushing and smiling a bit, before deciding to intervene.

"Well, I for one slept quite well, thank you for asking. Dipper makes a surprisingly comfortable pillow," she added with a smirk, making him blush even brighter.

"Oooh, really? I want details! Did you just cuddle? Did he kiss you? Oh oh oh did you kiss _him_?!" Mabel pressed.

"Heh, no, there was no kissing. Just a movie and a very comfy boy." She snuck a shy glance over at Dipper, who had turned back to making pancakes, but was grinning down at the stove.

"Boooring," Mabel announced, then bent down to half-whisper in Rose's ear. "You should kiss him. He's never kissed a girl, but I bet he wouldn't totally suck at it, since I'm pretty good at it, and y'know, twins." She stood back up, stuck her tongue out at her brother behind his back, and turned around. "I'll leave you two to your breakfast. I've got a very important Skype call to make."

"Pacifica again?" Dipper called over his shoulder.

"You know it, Bro-bro," Mabel grinned back, flouncing out of the kitchen.

"So, after this do you wanna head back into town with me?" Dipper placed a stack of pancakes and a pitcher of syrup on the table, along with forks and plates, before taking a seat across from Rose. "There's a few more parts I need to fix up the portal, plus I figure now that it's not as late, maybe I can show you around the town a bit. I need Grunkle Stan to help me with the portal, and he left this morning before you woke up. Said he'd be gone for a couple of days, so I thought we'd at least make the most of them…" He chewed nervously on his lip as he grabbed a couple pancakes off the stack, knowing she'd be disappointed and annoyed, if not downright angry, about the delay.

"O-oh. Yes, I suppose that's fine." She took a bite of her pancakes, smiling to hide her worry about her friends back home. "These are really quite good! Thank you for making breakfast, by the way."

"No problem. I usually end up cooking for whoever's around anyway."

"Whoever's around? I thought it was just you, Mabel, and Stan here."

"Sometimes Soos stays the night, especially when Melody comes to visit, and whenever Wendy's in town she usually stays here, since her family drives her kinda crazy. Plus Pacifica stays here whenever she comes back to town, since her parents won't let her come home after she came out to them. Aaand sometimes Mabel's friends, Candy and Grenda, have sleepovers with her. One night last summer there were, like, ten people here because everyone came to visit and no one thought to coordinate with each other, and Wendy ended bringing her boyfriend over too and Stan didn't want them in the same room, so it ended up being Mabel, Pacifica, Candy, Grenda, and Wendy in one room, Soos and Melody in another, Stan in his room, and I had to share a room with Wendy's boyfriend, which was especially awkward since I had a huge crush on Wendy when I first came here when I was twelve, and I guess she told him about it because he asked if I still like her which of course I don't, I totally moved on, and...I'm rambling and boring the hell out of you, aren't I?"

"Rambling? Definitely. Boring me? Not so much. It's actually quite refreshing to hear stories of normal life, after the insanity I've been thrown headfirst into."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Sometimes I forget about all that stuff you told me, with the meteor and the war and the aliens...N-not that I don't believe you! It's just a little…"

"Overwhelming and difficult to wrap your head around?" He nodded. "Yeah, I know the feeling." She pushed her chair out from the table and stood with a stretch before taking both her and Dipper's cleared plates over to the sink. "You cooked, I'll clean. Then I believe you said something about hitting the town?"

"I did, yeah. I should probably get dressed first, and we should see if Mabel's got more stuff you can borrow. Maybe today we can grab you a couple things, since it seems like you'll be staying at least a few more nights. Toothbrush, clothes, all that."

"Sure, sounds like a good idea." She chewed her lip nervously, but sighed and tried to make herself relax. She always worried too much, and there was nothing she could do about this now. She focused on washing the dishes, placing them carefully into the dish drainer before wiping her hands on an old rag on the counter. "I'll go see what Mabel's willing to loan me today. Meet you by the stairs?"

"Sure thing. And see if she's got any shorts, it's supposed to get up to the nineties today." He hurried upstairs, grabbing a pair of grey jeans and an old green t-shirt. Despite his advice, he hated wearing shorts, partly because he disliked how scrawny he still was, and partly because the purple scarred claw marks around his calf from last summer always caused people to ask questions. He also grabbed his backpack, stuffing the journal and a hoodie into it, just in case. Downstairs, meanwhile, Rose knocked gingerly on Mabel's door.

"Come in!" Mabel called, letting Pacifica know she might have to go for a sec.

"Hey. It's just me. Do you have anymore clothes I could possibly borrow? Dipper offered to buy me some today while we're out, so I can stop mooching off of you then, but in the meantime…"

"Of course I do, silly! Buuut you have to do two things for me first. First of all, say hi!" She turned her laptop to face Rose, grinning. "Pacifica, this is Rose. Dipper found her out in the woods, she accidentally teleported here from another dimension! Rose, this is Pacifica, my totally awesome and super hot girlfriend."

"Oh, hello! Nice to meet you, Pacifica."

"Charmed. Mabel, is this the girl you said Dipper fell asleep with last night?" Rose blushed as Mabel nodded gleefully. "Guess the Pines have a thing for blondes, huh?" She said, twirling a lock of her own long, blonde hair. "Now come on Mabel, put the computer down and give the girl some clothes. I doubt she wants to spend the whole day in your brother's pajamas."

"Alright, alright." She set the laptop down, but didn't go to the closet just yet. "Second thing though, be honest with me. Do you think my brother's cute?"

"Well, I, erm…" Rose chewed her lip, blushing brighter. "Maybe…"

"Maybe?" Mabel lifted an eyebrow, grinning.

"I mean, he definitely is attractive, physically, but, I mean, I've only been here a day, and who knows how much longer I'll be here, and I don't want to seem too forward…"

"Eeee!" Mabel squealed. "You guys are so cute! Ask him out, kiss him, do it do it do it!"

"I-I might. I'll see. Now can I please borrow some clothes?"

"Oh of course! We gotta make you look extra hot for your soon-to-be boyfriend," Mabel said as she grinned even wider. "Here, try these on." She tossed a pair of denim shorts and a loose-fitting, low cut, pale lavender tanktop. Rose obediently tried them on, turning around and changing quickly.

"Do I look okay?"

"You look fantastic," Mabel and Pacifica said in unison. "Although…" Pacifica added. "Mabel, hon, where's your makeup bag?"

"Oh! Here it is...um...yes! Perfect!" she brought out a black eyeliner pencil, a light lavender eyeshadow and brush, and a light pink lipstick. "Can I pleeease do it?" Rose sighed, nodding, and Mabel got to work. "Taa-daa!"

"Perfect," Pacifica grinned. "Now go get him, girl!" She and Mabel shooed Rose out together, and she went down to meet Dipper at the base of the stairs.

"Hey, what took you so long?"

"Mabel and Pacifica wanted to play dress up, and it was decreed I needed eyeliner." She shrugged a bit. "But I quite like the outfit, personally."

"Yeah. You look...yeah." He shook his head, wincing slightly at how dumb he sounded. "I mean great. You look great. Shall we?" He opened the door for her, and followed her out to the car. "I was thinking we'd give the hardware store another try, and then there's this great thrift store at the edge of town, maybe we can grab you clothes there?"

"Sounds like a delightful plan." She climbed into the car with him, smiling. "And maybe we can go out for lunch after?"

"Works for me. It's all on Stan's dime, after all." He started up the car, and they took off down the driveway.


	5. Chapter 5

"God dammit, not again," Dipper muttered in frustration as the old car shuddered to a halt. "Hang on, let me go check under the hood." He and Rose were done with their shopping trip and on their way to lunch in the next town over when the car broke down on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. Dipper left his door open as he went to open the hood, and sighed as he saw what the problem was. "It's a coolant leak, a bad one. We've gotta at least wait for the car to cool down before we can do anything, and I guess I'll have to see if I can get it towed. Sorry about all this."

"It's fine. Not something you intended, I assume, and old cars break down all the time. At least it's a fairly simple fix, and we have each other to occupy our time while we wait."

"I guess, yeah." He pulled out his phone and dialed the local towing company, glad he had convinced Grunkle Stan to get an account with them. "Hi! Yeah, this is Dipper Pines, calling because- huh? Oh, yes, Stan Pine's grand-nephew. Yep. Yes. Uh-huh. Listen, anyway, my car's got a coolant leak and I need it towed to the mechanic shop. An hour? Sure, yeah, I can wait. Yes, I'll stay in the area. Yes. Yep. Okay, thanks." He hung up, looking irritated. "It's gonna be an hour until they can make it out here. Sorry, I know you were looking forward to lunch and all, but there's not much we can do."

"I'm not so sure about that." Rose started digging through some of the bags they had, and pulled out some of the snackier food they had bought on an impulse. "Looks like a picnic in the making, if I'm not mistaken."

"I guess…" Dipper sighed, slumping back in his seat before slamming the horn of the car and letting out a short, but loud, yell. "Fuck. Sorry," he said, looking ashamed as he saw Rose's startled face. "I'm just sick of everything breaking and going wrong and I wanted to take you to lunch because I know you feel bad that we can't get you home yet and now even that's messed up and...argh. It's just so...I don't know. Sorry."

:No, it's fine, I know the feeling. I've definitely gotten angry at circumstances before. But, hey, we've got good snacks, and we seem to be in a quiet part of the forest...Let's just make the best of it."

"Yeah. You're right."

"I often am," she said with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah," he smiled back, gently shoving her. "So what are we even gonna do for an hour?"

"I don't know. What do teenagers typically do when they're alone in the woods for an hour?" She laughed as she saw Dipper's face go red. "I mean besides that, you dork. Way to perpetuate a stereotype. I meant, like, card games or something."

"Oh. Cards. Right. Hang on, I think I actually have a deck in here somewhere…" He rummaged through his backpack for a minute before pulling out a deck of cards. "What do you want to play? Poker? Go Fish? Crazy Eights?"

"Crazy Eights sounds fun," she agreed, laughing a bit to herself about how well the name fit a certain cerulean-blooded troll back home. "You deal. I'll be back in a moment." She stepped out of the car to stretch her legs while Dipper dealt out the cards, and ended up wandering a couple yards into the woods themselves.

"Rose?" Dipper called out as he finished. "Rose, where'd you go?" He left the car as well, grabbing his backpack and following her path into the woods, calling out a little louder and more frantically. "Rose?!" He thought of all the creatures he knew roamed these woods, and started to panic. "Rose, where are you?!" He heard a muffled cry to his left, and started running that way until he found her, tied to a gigantic tree with what seemed to be thick strands of spider silk, including some across her mouth. He climbed up the tree roots to her and gently tore the web from her mouth. "What happened?" he asked as he worked on the other strands of web, slowly trying to free her.

"This huge...creature shocked me and captured me, and spun me into this web...It was like a wolf, but with more legs, and more eyes...and apparently spinnerets."

"A spiderwolf. Great. Just what this day needed." He paused his work on the web to check the journal, muttering as he flipped the pages. "Weaknesses...weaknesses...Okay, here. Spiderwolves are weak to, uh...bright light and heat. I guess, wait here, I can go back to the car and grab the lantern…"

"I have a better idea. Just cut me loose and then get behind me. I have a plan." She had snuck off for a few minutes during their store runs to see if she still had any of her Light powers, and it just so happened that she did. Only here, they were more weaponized and literal, like beams and blasts of light, with no real hint of her Seer abilities mixed in. Dipper obeyed, tearing away the last of the web and stepping behind Rose, right as the spiderwolf came prowling back into the clearing. She focused her energy as it came closer, Dipper making worried sounds behind her as he resisted his instinct to jump at it. Just as it was about to leap at them, she let loose a blast of light bright enough to stun it, and hot enough to singe its fur. It stepped back, snarling, before taking another loping step towards them.

"It wasn't enough!" Dipper yelled, tugging at Rose's arm. "We have to run!"

"No! If we run, it will just chase us. We at least have to knock it out." She looked around her, wishing she still had her needles with her. If and when she got back home, she was going to make it a habit to always carry a bag with some essentials on her, weapons included. She looked on the ground, noticing that the dirt was littered with pine needles. "Hopefully this works…" she whispered. Grabbing a handful of them, she threw them at the spiderwolf, sighing in relief as they stuck themselves deep into its fur. "Thank god for vague strife specibus titles and interdimensional functionality." She took up another two handfuls, this time lighting the tips to embers with a small bit of Light magic first. The monster yelped as the stinging barbs burned it, but instead of turning tail as she had hoped, it lunged at her with a roar.

"Oh no you don't!" she heard Dipper cry as he appeared out of nowhere, clubbing the spiderwolf on the back of the head with a thick tree branch, causing it to fall to the ground. He hit it once more, and it rose to its feet, running away with its tail between its legs. "You okay?" Dipper asked, holding his hand out and helping Rose up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit terrified is all."

"I get that. But...That was amazing! What _was_ that?! With the light and the pine needles and...damn." He took her hand and they started walking back to the car.

"Well, remember I was telling you all the stuff that happened to me was within the framework of a game? At the start of the game, the program assigns each player a mythological role, with a class and an aspect. My class doesn't seem to have much effect here, but my given aspect was Light, and while within the game that was typically representative of luck and outcomes, it seems this world is a bit more...literal. The pine needles was another game abstraction. Each player has a Strife Deck, which holds weapon types they can wield, and my main weapon is needles. That was more of a technicality than any real skill." She shrugged a bit, knowing it was mostly luck that any of her plan had worked.

"But that, that was amazing! You saved our lives back there! Oh my god, you saved our lives. We would have died. It was gonna eat us and you saved us holy shit. I could kiss you right now." He blushed as he realized they were still holding hands, and quickly shoved his hands in his pockets. "I mean, not, like, literally, I mean, I could, but…" He gave her a helpless look.

"I know what you meant, Dipper. It's fine. And yeah, that was...terrifying. I am so thankful that worked the way I hoped it would." She looked relieved as they made it back to the car. "How long until they come to tow us back to civilization?" Dipper glanced down at his watch.

"Um...another half an hour, looks like."

"Oh, joy," she muttered. "Want to play that game of Crazy Eights?"

"I was thinking we could maybe just sit here and catch our breath for a sec."

"That's fair." She leaned back against the car, closing her eyes and taking deep breaths until her heart stopped racing. _We almost died. I almost died, without ever getting back home, ever seeing Dave or John or Jade again, ever apologizing to Kanaya, and to everyone else. I almost didn't get to say goodbye_, she thought. She sank slowly to the ground, shivering despite the heat.

"Whoa, hey, are you okay?" Dipper sat down next to her, dropping the bag on his other side. "What's up?"

"It's...it's nothing. I suppose that blast just drained more energy than I anticipated. I'm a little cold, is all."

"Cold? In this weather? Maybe you are crazy after all." He gave her small smile to let her know he was joking, and wrapped the hoodie he had grabbed earlier around her shoulders. "But really, is that all?" She sighed, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Just...worried, is all. About getting home. Too many variables. I don't know what will have changed by the time I make it back."

"Hey, it's gonna be fine. Stuff like this has a way of working itself out. And we've used the portal before, we know it works. It'll be okay." He wrapped his arm around her tentatively, smiling a bit as she leaned into him. "I promise, it'll be okay." They sat like that until the tow truck showed up, chatting about random stuff about each of their lives.


	6. Chapter 6

"Sounds like we're walking home tonight," Dipper sighed as he came back from talking to the mechanic. "Not only is the coolant leaking, the right back blinker doesn't work and the brake pads are so worn down he was surprised we could brake at all. He said it'd be a danger to the town to let us drive out in that hunk of junk. Luckily the Shack isn't too far away. If we start now, we can make it home by dark." After the forty five minute ride in the tow truck, in which Rose fell asleep on Dipper's shoulder, they'd had to wait another half hour for the mechanic to run diagnostics on the car.

"Oh. That's unfortunate. I take it the town's too small for public transport?" Dipper nodded. "What a shame. I suppose we better head off, then. What about the bags?"

"Oh, I stuck those in my backpack."

"What? How?"

"Space saving charm. Got a demon...acquaintance of mine to do it." Rose raised her eyebrow, but said nothing. "But yeah. Probably better to leave now." He held his hand out to Rose, who was still wearing his dark blue hoodie from earlier, and helped her up. Neither let go of the other's hand as they left the mechanic's.

"So, how long of a walk did you say it was to the Shack?"

"About...five miles? So I guess around an hour and a half. Luckily it's a nice night out."

"Yeah," she agreed, looking up and staring at the sky. It was just starting to turn orange, cueing sunset, and the crickets had begun to chirp. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed Earth until she found herself swept back into it.

"Y'know, if we hurry, I could show you the Falls before we head to the Shack. It's just a little detour, and trust me, it's worth it."

"Hey, I'm just a tourist here. I'm following you, and I'll just have to hope you know where you're going." She smiled, one hand in the pocket of the hoodie, the other still holding Dipper's.

"I have a fantastic internal compass, if you must know. And even if I didn't, I've stayed here all summer for the past four years. I've got the whole town more or less memorized by now."

"I bet. Just the summers?"

"Yeah. My parents live down in Piedmont, in California, and I go to school there during the rest of the year. They let me come back up during breaks, but I still always miss the place when I'm gone, y'know?" She nodded, knowing the feeling.

"I still get homesick sometimes, for my old house in New York. My relationship with my mother wasn't fantastic, but I think was due more to be being a shitty thirteen year old than to anything she did, although she did drink an awful lot. But, sometimes I have dreams I'm back home, and I need to wake up for school, and when I do wake up I'm on the meteor. I mean, I love being around so many friends, but...I just wish I could go back and say sorry." She sighed, shrugging a bit. "But it does no good to dwell on things that can't be fixed. The only thing I can do is keep going, and hope that maybe, in some timeline or universe, she forgives me." Dipper looked at her, not sure if he should pity her or be in awe at the way she saw things.

"Hey, that ice cream shop down there looks like it's still open. Want some?" He nudged her side gently, trying to cheer her up.

"Sure, if you don't mind. Still warm out." She followed him into the store, where he ordered mint chocolate chip for both of them.

"You said it's your favorite, yeah?" She nodded, surprised he remembered. "Good, I was worried I forgot." They ate in silence for a while, Rose hesitantly taking Dipper's hand after a couple minutes, and grinning as she saw him blush out of the corner of her eye. Dusk was starting to set in by the time they finished their ice cream, and Dipper saw their turn-off ahead. "Almost there. Still wanna check out the Falls real quick?"

"I see no reason not to. It's a beautiful night, and I think being in another dimension nullifies any curfew I may have." She grinned at her own joke, leaning into him a little. "I wonder what little things are different here, like bands and history and nature. I wonder if the constellations are the same. Do you have the Big Dipper here?" Dipper stopped and looked at her blankly for a moment, wondering if she was really being serious.

"...Rose. What's my name?"

"Dipper."

"Did I tell you how I got it?" She shook her head, and he sighed and took off his hat, lifting his bangs to show her his birthmark. "Yes. Yes we have the Big goddamn Dipper." She laughed, louder and harder than he'd seen her laugh before, and he turned crimson, quickly covering the birthmark back up. "Yeah, yeah, it's a stupid birthmark and a stupid nickname. Whatever. Let's just go back to the Shack." She stopped laughing immediately, looking shocked.

"What? I thought we were going to go up to the Falls, you said…"

"If you want to so bad you can find your own way," he interjected, turning to walk away.

"Dipper, what gives?" She reached out to grab his arm. "I know you're not just going to leave me here, you and I both know you're better than that. But why are you so angry all of a sudden?"

"Because I'm sick of people laughing at me! I get it, I have a weird birthmark and a weird nickname, but I'm sick and tired of people making fun of me when they see it."

"I wasn't laughing at you, Dipper. I was laughing because I'm in another dimension, asking if the Big Dipper exists. That's absurd. And I found your reaction funny, because it was. But I wasn't laughing at you."

"O-oh. That...that makes sense. Sorry." He turned bright red, ashamed of having been so defensive over nothing.

"You're forgiven. I think we all have something that burns our fuses shorter." She shrugged, smiling reassuringly. "Besides, that was nothing. You should hear Karkat's tantrums sometime. He doesn't know how to keep his voice down normally, and when he yells you can hear it everywhere." She laughed a bit, remembering how bad the troll was when he tried to whisper. "Do you still want to go to the Falls? You seemed excited to show them to me."

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "C'mon. Race you to the top of the hill!" He started sprinting up the street, laughing as he ran. Rose caught on quick, catching up, her feet slapping the pavement.

"Oh is that how it's going to be, huh? I'll have you know I ran track through all of middle school!"

"I'll have you know I still run track!" He smirked, speeding up a bit to pass her again. She let out a cry of outrage, putting everything she had into beating him, passing him and staying ahead, panting as she glared ahead, feeling her heart pound in her chest. She focused all her energy, taking long leaps and straining every muscle, until she crested the hill just before him, shouting her victory before sitting down and leaning against a boulder, panting.

"I win," she got out between breaths, grinning up at him as he stood above her, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll beat you next time. Now come on, you've gotta see this." He led her down to the cliff overlooking the Falls, unfolding a blanket he and Mabel kept hidden behind a rock, and sat down, patting the blanket next to him. "What d'you think?"

"It's...it's incredible." The last fading light hit the water, spreading crystal lights all across the cliffs, as the sky turned a dusty purple and the first stars began to shine. She sat down carefully, still staring, not sure whether to look to the sky or the waterfall. "It's beautiful."

"A lot of things around here are," Dipper murmured, watching Rose's cheeks flush as she realized his compliment. "Sorry. That was cheesy, wasn't it?"

"A bit. But in a good way." She smiled at him, moving a little closer to him and leaning into him. They sat like that for a while, watching the last of the sunset, Dipper's arm around her shoulders, before she sat up with a bolt. "Look!" she gasped, pointing up at the now-dark sky, where a streak of light was fading and another took its place.

"A meteor shower? There's not supposed to be one for another week."

"Well, I did manage to tear a hole into your dimension. I'm sure a little off-time astronomical phenomena is a fairly light consequence for that." She smiled, leaning into him again. "Besides, it's pretty."

"That it is," he agreed, turning partly to face her. He bit his lip nervously, absent-mindedly picking lint pills off of the blanket. It's now or never, he thought, trying to build up his courage. He took a deep breath, then leaned into her, gently placing his lips against hers, praying to God he wasn't too terrible. Rose looked surprised for a second, but quickly smiled against his lips and returned the kiss. As she pulled away, she looked at him with a grin.

"So, how was your first kiss?"

"...Soft." He looked a little dazed for a second, before realizing he must sound like an idiot. "Your lips, I mean. They're soft. You, uh, probably use a lot of chapstick, or...Oh God okay I'm gonna shut up now." She grinned and laughed, a pretty laugh like quiet bells, before kissing him again.

"I do, in fact," she said as she pulled back. "It's vanilla flavored."

"Huh."

"Don't we have a meteor shower to watch?"

"You're much prettier."

"And you're lovestruck," she laughed, blushing as she realized her heart was fluttering too. She laid down on the blanket, resting her head in Dipper's lap. "Well, I want to watch the meteors."

"That's fine. I don't mind staying, and Stan's not here to yell when we get home. Mabel will never let me hear the end of this, though." He gently ran his fingers through her hair, grinning like an idiot. She sighed happily, watching the sky rain down beams of light as Dipper continued playing with her hair.

"This is nice…" she murmured before yawning, struggling to keep her eyes open.

"You sound tired." She nodded, curling up a bit as she yawned again. "C'mon, let's get you back to the Shack. You can sleep in my bed tonight, I'll take the couch."

"But it's your bed."

"You're my guest. I'm sleeping on the couch either way, you wanna waste a perfectly good bed, feel free. Now c'mon, I'll give you a piggyback ride back if you carry the backpack." He helped her up and handed her the bag, crouching down for her to get on his back. She wrapped her arms loosely around him, resting her head on the back of his neck and closing her eyes. She fell asleep on the way, smiling, and only woke up when he put her down on his bed, taking the backpack from her.

"Already? That was quick."

"I walk fast. And I think you fell asleep, too, so. Um…" he dug through the backpack a bit and pulled out the two bags with her clothes in them. "I'm gonna go put the snacks away and probably change downstairs. You can change in here if you want." He grabbed a pair of pajama pants and went down to the kitchen, closing the door quietly behind him, not wanting to wake up Mabel. Rose yawned and stretched to wake herself up, then began rummaging through the shopping bag, pulling out a pair of black loose capri pajamas and a purple tanktop, changing quickly in case Dipper came back. Then she found a spare blanket and pillow, laying them out on the couch and sitting on it, refusing to take the bed. She looked around curiously, wanting to investigate his room, but not wanting to end up taking the bed. It felt rude.

"You dressed?" Dipper called as he knocked on the door.

"Yeah," she affirmed, nodding a bit even though he couldn't see her. He opened the door, wearing the same green t-shirt he had all day and a pair of black pants.

"Oh no you don't. I am sleeping on that couch. I will lay down on you if I have to, but I will be a polite host, dammit." He smiled playfully, laying down on the couch and stretching his legs behind her, slowly pushing her off.

"You are as stubborn as a mule," she responded, getting up and sitting across his legs. He reached out and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her down on top of him and tickling her. "Eek! Okay! I surrender! You can have your damn couch!" He stopped and she rolled off of him, sitting on the floor. "That was uncalled for."

"You tried to take my couch. That's what you get." He wrapped the blanket over himself as she climbed into the bed. "Do you mind if I turn off the light now?"

"No, go ahead." He pulled the chain on the lamp near the couch as she curled up in the bed, smiling a bit.

"...Hey, Rose?" Dipper said after a pause.

"Hm?"

"...Was it just a kiss? Or are we…?" She shifted uncomfortably, chewing her lip. She wanted to be dating him, but she knew she had to go home soon. The meteor crew needed her Seer powers to guide them through the Furthest Ring. She'd wondered a couple times tonight about staying here, forever, and not even worrying about the portal. But she knew she at least had to go back and see, at least know she could go back.

"Dating? ...Yeah. I think we are." Dipper grinned in the dark, and she could barely see it in the moonlight through the window. She smiled a bit to herself, as well. "Goodnight, Dipper."

"G'night Rose. Sweet dreams."


End file.
